The acoustic environment of a room is an important consideration for any occupied space. The ability to manage a room's acoustic environment is a consideration in many aspects of the design of residential, commercial and industrial structures. For example, freedom from distraction is an important consideration in workers' satisfaction with their office environment and in homeowners' enjoyment of their private space. Beyond physical changes to a room or structure, many solutions exist for providing a desirable acoustic characteristic, such as sound masking systems to reduce the intelligibility of unwanted speech overheard in various office configurations.
However, there is a need to increase the flexibility of placement and ease-of-installation of sound masking and sound-emitting systems; to increase the usage of sound masking systems in setting other than offices; to improve their aesthetic appearance and integration with other systems in environments in which they are used; and/or to improve other characteristics of sound masking systems.